The present invention relates generally to computer based postage mail piece printing systems, and particularly to a system for handling reprints of mail pieces required by mail piece printing errors.
Postage metering systems, generally speaking, require an account, a printing machine for printing a valid postage stamp (indicium), a method or mechanism for debiting the account according to the amount of postage printed and a mechanism for resetting and/or paying the account. In one system, a person must manually set a metering machine to allow printing of a certain cumulative value of postage according to the amount desired and paid for by the user, $100 for example. The machine is used to print postage as needed until the amount, $100 in this example, has been expended. Whenever more postage is desired the metering machine must be taken to the post office and physically reset upon payment of the desired postage. Additionally, if postage is printed by mistake or unuseable postage is printed, the unused postage must be brought to the post office for credit. Some postage meters of this general type include a modem and a mechanism to purchase postage through a telephone link to the postal authority.
Another system allows the use of a computer and printer to print valid postage directly on a mail piece and to remotely purchase the postage through a communications link to a center authorized by the relevant postal authority (e.g., the United States Postal Service (USPS) in the United States). The postage is printed as a two dimensional bar code or postage indicia directly on the mail piece, which indicia contains the amount of postage, a unique authorization number and other pertinent information, such as the addressee, street, state, ZIP+4+2 code and country for example.
Metering discrete postage amounts is accomplished by either a secured memory module local to the user""s computer or a remote secured memory module stored in the authorized center. Each time the user prints an indicia the requisite amount of postage is debited from the user""s account, whether the account be local or remote. Additional postage may be added to a user""s account by remotely or locally updating the user""s memory module (local or remote module) upon payment. Unlike previous systems, this system allows printing the postage and additional useful information directly on the mail piece in the form of an easily readable two dimensional bar code. However, this system is prone to even more errors in printing postage than previous systems. For example, in addition to user xe2x80x9cmistakesxe2x80x9d, use of a printer may result in printing on the wrong media, a sheet of paper rather than an envelope for example, or in media jams within the printer, thereby rendering the postage indicia unuseable.
Another system, used by some express shippers, allows a user to print a shipping label, a one-dimensional bar code, directly from a local printer. The user""s computer is connected to the system through the internet and the appropriate charges are made to the user""s account for all printed labels. If a printed label will not be used, for whatever reason, the user notifies the shipper by computer or phone, and the shipper cancels the label by voiding the unique bar code number assigned to the unwanted shipping label, rendering the unwanted label useless. Shipping companies can use this system with minimal concerns for fraud because each shipping label is entered and tracked from pick-up to delivery. However, the number of mail pieces shipped by the USPS is of such a scale that tracking each piece is impractical.
Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a system and method for remotely requesting and receiving authorization for reprinting unuseable postage indicia. It is a further object of the present invention to provide this system and to ensure sufficient fraud protection without the need for tracking every mail piece.
In summary, the present invention is a postage printing system that enables users to generate postage indicia and print mail pieces at client computers. Upon user determination of a mail piece print failure, a mail metering application on the client computer sends a reprint request to an authorizing authority at a remote location. Upon receiving a reprint authorization from the authorizing authority, the client computer prints a replacement mail piece with the postage indicia. The mail metering application prevents the user from reprinting the mail piece when a reprint authorization is not received from the authorizing authority.
A server computer used by the authorizing authority receives the reprint request from a client computer. The request includes information identifying an account for printing postage indicia. The server computer has a reprint authorization procedure that evaluates the request, including verifying that said account is valid. When the account is verified and other criteria are satisfied, a reply is sent to the client computer that includes a reprint authorization. Otherwise, a negative reply is sent to the client computer that does not include the reprint authorization. The criteria applied to the reprint request may include a limit on the number of reprint requests to be authorized for the account during a predefined time period, and/or a cumulative monetary limit on reprint requests to be authorized for the account during a predefined time period.